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09/06/2005: "mid-vacation update"
Yes, I'm in the middle of my vacation down on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and thus far it's been quite a good vacation. However, there are now many things to think about that have happened over the past couple of days that don't involve vacationing. It's been a wild 4 days.
First, the really good news: my brother Stu is now engaged! He did the classy thing and proposed on a beach watching a sunset (well, as much as could be seen behind the clouds) with a 3-diamond ring. Sweet. So his very lovely girfriend Megan, that is absolutely great with Isabelle and Isaac, is now destined to become Auntie Megan. Simply fabulous.
The other things I have to think about involve my future career. My dad had been trying to get me to meet up with one of his business partners for a while now, and to also meet his partner's partner, a self-labeled "banana" (Chinese Canadian) that is doing lots of business with China. Well, just before we left for the airport on Saturday I had time to meet with them for an hour, and it's an hour that may very well change my professional life forever.
First off, they were very, VERY impressed with the program that I wanted to take. Mincing no words, they both told me that they want me to take the course so that I could get on board with their company as soon as possible. Wow. So, I've got that to look forward to. Meanwhile, as I'm out of work, I need to fill the time in between with something, right? They have an answer for that too. I'll be doing engineering sales for a technology that they have access to that will be very big in certain circles. It's useful industrially, but not necessarily terribly interesting, so I won't go into details. However, my career change is into engineering sales.
Even before that, however, they have asked me to think of a product - any product - that I want to import from China to sell. They have the contacts to get virtually ANY product that is made in China directly from the factory, and thus cutting out a lot of middle men. That means more profit for those of us that are the middlemen (like me). The only stipulations? It has to be high-volume, and not cost too much (to minimize capital outlay). I have a feeling - as does my dad - that this is an initial test to see how I think and reason, and perhaps gauge my business acumen. Either way, I'm stoked to do my best.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, I'm sure. For now I'm going to come up with that product to import, enjoy my vacation, mix up my uncle's awesome strawberry daiquiri recipe tonight, and do nothing but look forward. More info later.
